ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
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providers] can have the ability to offer them the best and most customised experience possible’. DISPLAY PERFORMANCE Absen is another company that has evidently thought deeply about the ways in which AI can be used to optimise the performance and experience of its area of technology – specifically, LED displays used in a wide variety of indoor and outdoor settings. But, as SVP for global business development Ruben Rengel indicates, it is only in the recent past – as the latest generation of processing technologies have become available – that the full scope of possibilities has become apparent. “AI is something we have been exploring for many years, but the big explosion surrounding real applications seen for AV has probably happened in the last year,” Rengel confirms. The new processors mean it is ‘easier to develop better, which helps our R&D team to come up with more ideas – not just covering the use of the products we have now, but also for future developments in this technology’. The industriousness of the Absen R&D team is underlined when Rengel shares the application of AI to multiple aspects of a display and its performance. “One aspect is the performance of the display itself, which means how both the screen and image look,” he explains. “On top of that, there is the role of AI in analysing the various environmental variables – the most obvious of which could be the brightness, [though there is also scope to use AI] to analyse the situation of the environment around the screen to adapt to whatever is in contrast to this brightness.” Ultimately, AI algorithms can then be employed to ‘optimise the performance of the screen’ in any given setting or situation. Rengel also points to another exciting application of AI in AV: the reduction of power consumption. At a time when live event organisers in particular are striving to improve their energy efficiency – sometimes in order to align with specific decarbonisation policies – it seems
integration,” says solutions engineering team leader Davide Quarto. “It has first to be consolidated in performance venues; as a second step, it could be ported into a stadium.” Perhaps underlining the point made in the introduction of this article about end users wanting to invest in AI – but not being entirely clear of the desired result – Quarto indicates that thought still needs to be given to exactly how the new technology ‘can elevate and bring this experience to a new level’. In the meantime, AI holds clear potential to be applied for understanding and ‘analysing people’s behaviours so [entertainment
learns, but in reality it’s trying to find the best set of parameters to produce the optimal results for your dataset.” In terms of the aspects that distinguish Naostage’s approach to AI, he points out: “What sets us apart is the fact that we own all of these processes. We don’t rely on an off-the-shelf OEM product that we treat as a black box. When the AI fails to perform its tasks, we have the ability to identify how and why. We can then take the necessary steps to meet our clients’ goals.” Pondering the overall outlook for AI in AV, Le Doeuff lists his key enthusiasms as the opportunity to streamline tasks in the AV industry. These are to introduce new tools that support the creation of captivating new experiences; empower designers and technicians to achieve things previously ‘either impossible or only accessible with massive budgets’; and develop a generation of technicians who can master new tools and ‘push the boundaries of what’s possible’. Yet, there are also some grounds for concern. An over-reliance on AI-powered tools can result in creative complacency, suggests Le Doeuff, while there is also a risk of homogenisation. This means there could be a ‘drop in creativity if everyone produces the same shows, effects and designs simply because that’s what the tools can do’. Pro audio mainstay Powersoft also recognises the potential of AI to support immersive experiences while suspecting it’s “still too early to see this applied to stadium design and
Absen LED technology was central to the FIBA U19 World Cup’s incredible interactive floor
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